The American estate agent Beverly Carter, who apparently vanished while on a viewing with a prospective purchaser, has been found dead.
Police said her body had been found in a shallow grave in Arkansas.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office gave the details in a statement.
The attractive 49-year old-went missing last week after failing to return from the viewing.
On Monday, police arrested a 33-year-old man, Arron Lewis, on suspicion of kidnapping Mrs Carter whose husband went to the property when she failed to make contact, and found her car parked outside and the door to the house wide open.
Police are planning to charge Lewis with capital murder, said the statement.
Lewis was questioned for over 12 hours and eventually admitted that he had abducted Mrs Carter, but did not say where she was.
Police said they then received information which led them to her body.
The tragic case has sent alarm bells through the American real estate industry.
Mrs Carter’s employers are now insisting that their staff must meet and check out prospective purchasers in their office, before going on viewings.
The case draws inevitable parallels with the disappearance of agent Suzy Lamplugh in July 1986. Her body has never been found.
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust is holding a National Personal Safety Day next Monday to highlight awareness of simple and practical solutions. The site, however, barely mentions agents.
http://www.nationalpersonalsafetyday.co.uk/
I'll never forget the absolute shock and let's be fair hilarity when we saw at the NAR conference in the US that the busiest stand was the one that sold Tasers.
But what it does highlight here is how you can never take security for granted and need to have procedures in place.
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